Imaginary Assassin
by Dokugin
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki was taken at birth by the Shinigami, instead of the Fourth Hokage. He is trained by the Shinigami to eliminate those who stand in the way of Life and Death. With his skills in hand, he becomes the Imaginary Assassin.
1. It All Seems Familiar, But it's Not

**Here's the rewrite of ****Imaginary Assassin****. The other one, I didn't really like that much. It wasn't because of the story or anything. It was just the way I wrote it. If this doesn't do well, then I'll take it down and go back to Ghost of Existence. **

**So, here's the summary from the original story. **

**Summary: At the Nine-Tailed Fox's sealing, the ****Yondaime Hokage's life was not taken. Instead, it was Naruto Uzumaki's. He is taken by the Shinigami to be trained as one of his soldiers, beings who transcend Life and Death. It is there he gains the name,** **Arimoshinai** **no Kyoushu, the Imaginary Assassin. **

**Disclaimer: I technically own this fic, since I created it. I don't own anything else here though, such as places and characters. **

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Prologue: This All Seems Familiar, But It's Not

It ran on. The fox was at least 100 feet tall, and with nine tails, it was a sight to behold. It's eyes were a red, with veins running around it. The fox lifted one of its tails and brought it down. It crashed into the ground and brought with it an earthquake that shook the ground beneath the shinobi's feet.

The fox had attacked not one hour ago. Already it had destroyed half of the forest surrounding Konoha and was attacking the outer walls.

The force of the fox's tail impacting the ground caused the wall to crumble. With a single leap, it was inside Kohnoha.

They had immediately assembled all their military forces and nothing could stop the great beast. The samurai the Damiyo had sent were nothing against the beast. They could do nothing with their swords to hinder the beast. Those that tried to slash at the fox's legs were blown away in a hellish red glow when their swords touched the beast.

The shinobi were not doing much better. The Aburame clan had sent all their available kikaichu against the beast, but they had all been burnt to a crisp. The Yamanaka had no luck either. The beast's mind was too old and complex for them to manipulate. They, like the Aburame clan, had started attacking with jutsu's. The Uchiha and Hyuga clans dojutsu's were no use against the beast's might, and everything they tried could not stop the beast. The Nara and Akimichi were having better luck than the rest of the clan's. With the combined forces of the Nara clan, they were able to use their clan jutsu to slow the beast down. They wouldn't hold on for much longer though. The Akimichi were enlarging themselves to half the Demon's height, and using all their strength to attack, and their efforts were showing. The fox was held back long enough for the Yondaime Hokage to show.

Eventually, he did, along with his wife, Uzumaki Kushina. Her breathing was labored, a testament to the swell on her stomach.

"Are you sure?" He asked her, as she gave a sharp intake in breath. He ran over to her, supporting her underneath his arm. He looked at her, and she flashed him a smile to show she was alright.

"Of course I am, baka." She lifted her arm, and gently hit him over the head in a playful manner. "It's just a baby."

The Yondaime smiled down at her. His wife really was a little childish sometimes, even when the time wasn't right.

The hairs on the back of his neck tingled, as he picked up his wife and carried her to the side, as a massive tail came crashing down at the spot where they had just been.

"Are you alright?" He asked her again worriedly. She reached up with her hand again, bringing it down on her husband's head with force.

"I've already said I was fine. You don't have to ask again." Then she turned her face to the Kyuubi, who was angrily thrashing about, his tails whipping every which way and slaughtering bundles of ninja who could not get away in time. "Let's hurry. Our shinobi are dying, and I need to examine the Kyuubi's chakra to make the seal."

The Yondaime nodded, putting her down and running along beside her towards the Kyuubi.

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"Kushina…" He murmured softly, touching her hair. She was in bad shape.

The Kyuubi had gotten her with an out lash of chakra, as she had gotten too close and examined the Kyuubi's chakra with her Ryuushigan (Particle Eye). To make matters worse, she had immediately gone into labor, and the Yondaime had to rush her off the battlefield and into one of the medic tents near the battle.

She screamed, and the boy came out (that was weird…). The nurses held him up, wrapping him in a towel to get the blood off. She handed the boy to the Yondaime, before heading out the tent flap to leave the two alone.

The Yondaime stared down at the boy, pride filling him. He had red blonde hair, a mixture of both his father's hair and his mother's hair. Even though he had just been born, he already had some hair. He was looking at the world with calm, blue eyes. Normally, a baby would have been crying right then, but the boy was just staring at everything, taking in everything.

"He's beautiful," He muttered softly, reaching down and patting his son like a small, newborn puppy.

Kushina laughed, then winced in pain. "Don't treat our son like a dog." She laughed again, and then leaned over the side of her bed and coughed up blood. The Yondaime rushed over to her, supporting his son with one arm and his wife with the other.

When Kushina was finished, she smiled at the Yondaime, then at her son. "You're right though. He is beautiful. It's sad that I won't live to see him grow up, and become a fine man like his father."

The Yondaime's eyes widened at her words, and was just about to scream at her to not give up when she cut him off with a swift chop to the head.

"Baka. You're the leader of this village, so act like it." She then sighed deeply, "We both know that I won't live from the Kyuubi's taint, and it's only a matter of time before it kills me."

Through this exchange, the baby looked at his parents, examining what was happening yet not knowing what was happening.

"Hand me the brush, and some ink." She ordered him. When he did not respond, she said softly, "I know that I'm going to die, anata, but please let me die knowing I'm helping this village."

The Yondaime stayed still for a little while longer, and then grudgingly walked over to a medical counter, taking a brush and an inkwell. He brought it over to Kushina, and held them up to her.

"Arigato," She said, and coughed, some blood spilling from the corners of her mouth. She took one look at her son, her bloodline activating.

The Yondaime watched, as his wife effortlessly created a seal, designed to contain one demonic chakra. It was her specialty, the creation of seals. He had asked her to create one seal, designed to hold demonic chakra. He had created a plan, knowing the Kyuubi was right at their gates. When he had outlined the plan to his wife, she had strongly opposed it, knowing that her son would have a hard life, and probably be ostracized by the whole village. In the end however, she relented. They knew none of them could stand against the fox. Even with the combined might of their village, they would fall. This was the only way. If she knew the part about the Shinigami, then she would never have agreed.

"Here," She said to him, handing the bundle containing their son over. She stared at the boy one last time, before looking at her husband. She smiled, and he returned it with a small smile of his own. Then he turned on his heel and left, an unspoken good-bye passing between them.

When he left the tent, he bit his bottom lip to hold back the tears, and he looked down at his son.

"Gomen, Naruto-kun." He told the young boy. They had chosen the name Naruto as soon as they had found out Kushina was pregnant. It was their favorite part of the ramen, after all. "I'll be leaving you alone today." He spoke to the boy, while summoning up Gamabunta, the Toad Boss. "You're mom is going to die, and your father is going to die." He chuckled a bit, tears falling steadily down his face. He sniffed, and said, "I sound so much like the Uchiha right now." He frowned, this revelation hitting him hard.

With a single leap, the Toad Boss was right in front of the Kyuubi, whose tails were flowing behind him majestically.

"**Mortal," **The fox growled, **"How dare you stand before me with such defiance?" **

The Yondaime gripped his son tighter, as he stared at the fox from across the field. The Toad Boss jumped high into the air, as the tail came slamming down into the ground, a shockwave of chakra spreading out beneath them. A tail shot out from behind the Kyuubi, and the Yondaime heard the toad below him grunt in pain.

"Gomen, Minato-kun." He said, "I can't stay here for any longer."

The Yondaime nodded, and the toad whispered words of good luck to him, before poofing away in a puff of smoke. The Yondaime fell, twisting his body around to avoid an incoming tail from the Kyuubi. He heard the beast growl below him, as he landed with a heavy thump on its head.

"**Damn mortal!" **cried the fox, shaking his head to try and get the Yondaime off. He nearly succeeded, as the Yondaime realized that his chakra and the Kyuubi's were mixing together and causing the Yondaime's chakra control to slip. He was able to save himself in time, as he reached a hand down and grabbed the Kyuubi's fur tightly. In his other arm, he held the bundle which contained his son, who was still looking at everything curiously. The Kyuubi stopped, as the Yondaime slammed one of his special kunai into the body of the Kyuubi.

His chakra mixed with his, flooding the fox's body with a human's chakra. It froze him for a few seconds, the contact and sudden intrusion of the chakra mixing with his. It was enough, as the Yondaime laid his son on the back of the Kyuubi and did handseals at a blindingly fast rate.

When he was finished, the Shinigami stood behind him.

He turned to face him, controlling the shivers that were bound to appear when meeting the God of Death.

"S-S-S-Sh-hini-gami-sama," He could not help but stutter, facing the giant that was the Shinigami. He towered over him, nearly twenty feet in height. He hovered in the air, his gray skin dull against his skin. His arms were crossed over his chest, staring down at the human who had summoned him from the Immortal Realms.

"Mortal." He said to the blonde haired man, addressing him as what he was. "You have called me in the Mortal Realms, taken me forcibly from the Immortal Realms. What is it you so desperately seek, that you felt compelled to call me?"

The Yondaime bowed deeply to him, almost forgetting to breathe and took a sharp intake of breath to fill his lungs. "Shinigami-sama. I offer you my soul to seal this beast within my son."

The Shinigami looked down at the blonde haired man, as he bent over and picked up a bundle. "You offer your soul to seal this beast when you could have offered your soul to have him destroyed instead?" He asked amused, as the man stopped.

"You can do that?" He asked wildly, his eyes widening in shock, then into fear as the Shinigami turned his gaze on him, looking down at him angrily.

"**OF COURSE NOT, YOU INCOMPETANT MORTAL!" **He thundered. **"THAT BEAST IS AS IMMORTAL AS I! HE CANNOT DIE!" **

The Yondaime held the child up to the Shinigami, quickly saying, "Then seal him into my son and take my soul!"

The Shinigami examined the boy held up below him. Blood was still on him, marking him as a newborn. His eyes were staring up at the Shinigami, looking at him with an emotion different from fear. To him, it was pretty frightening to see a newborn looking at him with a clear and crisp calm, not with the usual fear that came with meeting the God of Death.

A plan formulated in his mind, as he stared at the young boy.

"Very well," He said slowly, "I will seal the beast for the price of your soul."

The Yondaime held up his son, and the God of Death reached out towards the Kyuubi, who was still frozen from the chakra mix. He grasped his soul, and pulled it out, sticking it into the boy who the Yondaime held out.

The Yondaime sighed in relief, as he saw the Shinigami place the soul of the Kyuubi into his son. He then opened his mouth in shock as the Shinigami grabbed hold of the bundle in his outstretched hands and pulled him from the Yondaime's grasp.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted at the Shinigami, who was examining the boy in his arms. "You were supposed to take my soul, not my son!"

The Shinigami shook his head. "Yes, I was." He told him simply, as the body of the Kyuubi stared crumbling due to the absence of a soul. "But I didn't seal the Kyuubi into you. Besides," He scratched the head of the boy with one finger, "His soul is probably worth more than yours."

The Shinigami started disappearing, starting from his feet up.

"Wait!" The Hokage shouted, holding a hand out as he sunk, the Kyuubi's body falling away under his feet. "Don't take him!"

The Shinigami completely disappeared and he was forced to jump, as the Kyuubi completely disappeared, nothing left of the fox's corpse left.

Everyone slowly walked back into Konoha. They walked through the streets, battle weary and a little bit in awe at what they had seen. Only a few people were left, helping to tend to the injured.

The Yondaime was leaned against a tree in shock and exhaustion. He had used most of his chakra to summon the Shinigami, and his only son.

'It might take years for Konoha to recover.' He thought mentally said. Over and over in his mind replayed the same image of the Shinigami taking away his son.

Tsunade came walked up to the Yondaime, a crestfallen look on her face.

"Minato…" She said softly to him, not knowing how to break it. The Yondaime nodded, a small sob racking his body. He had lost them both, in order to save his village.

Kakashi, the Third Hokage, and Jiraiya walked up to tree the Yondaime leaned against.

They stood there in silence for a few moments none of them knowing what to say. The current Hokage's shoulders were slumped, his breath a little ragged. It was Jiraiya who broke the silence first, "You did good, gaki."

"Jiraiya's right, Minato-kun." Tsunade said to him, trying to make him feel better.

The Yondaime slowly whispered, "I didn't do good. The Shinigami was supposed to take me, not Naruto."

"Maybe it was for the best." the Third Hokage slowly said, as if thinking it out while saying it.

"What do you mean it was for the best, Sandaime-sama?!" yelled out Kakashi, half in shock and the other in puzzlement.

"If you think about it, it does." said the Yondaime, speaking for the first time since the Shinigami had sealed the Demon Fox. Revelation struck his face, along with the wariness of a man who had lost many things.

"What do you mean?" Shouted Kakashi. His gaze turned and rested on the form of his sensei. The weariness was still there, but there was also a determination present there.

"He means," Jiraiya started, "That with the gaki's help, we'll be able to rebuild Konoha, and make it better than ever before."

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It was a week after the Kyuubi attack, and the village was just starting to pull itself back together. It was a rainy day, but the people still stood under the overcast skies to hear him speak.

"Citizens of Konoha," He began, not raising his voice more than he had to. The crowd below him held an air of depression and hopelessness over them, which had been prevalent ever since the Kyuubi had attacked. "It has been a week since the Kyuubi's attack. Many of us have lost friends," Kakashi looked down, remembering Rin, "Others have lost comrades. There are parents, who have lost sons and daughters." An image of Naruto sprang into his mind, but he buried it, knowing that it wouldn't do good to have it affect him now. He would have time to cry later. "There are sons and daughters who will grow up, never knowing their parents. Then there are the ones who have lost husbands and wives to the Kyuubi." He shed a tear for the death of Kushina, but continued on. "It is our duty as the survivors to let those lost live on in our hearts and in our memories."

He paused for a moment, allowing some to offer up prayers to the Heavens.

"We will never forget the past, but now we must go towards the future. We will help each other, and through this, we will become stronger." A cheer rang through the crowds, hope filling them once more at his words. "Never shall we forget, this moment and this day. Today, we will strive to make Konoha, and the entire Fire Country better than it ever was before!"

The crowds below him shouted their praise, and support for the future. He looked to the rising sun, as the skies cleared.

'This is for you, Kushina, Naruto.' He said in his mind, 'I'll make this a place you would have loved to live in.'

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"Shinigami-san." Kami chastised the God of Death, who was standing in front of him with a bundle in his arms. "Why do you have a mortal in the Immortal Realms?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The Shinigami retorted. "I've chosen this boy."

"Preposterous!" Shouted Kami. "He is a newborn! We have never taken a newborn before as a Chosen!"

"Then, it's good you're not taking him," He sneered. "I will train this boy, and I will make him the best of the best!" He declared.

Kami just shook his head, walking away.

The Shinigami watched his retreating back, then stared down at the boy in his arms.

Three whisker marks adorned each side of his cheeks. Red lined outlined his pupil, surrounding his pool of azure colored eyes. The iris was slitted, much like a fox's. All these were probably from the fox's influence, but they didn't seem to affect the boy mentally, as he was still staring at the world calmly and curiously.

"You will become the best of the best." He whispered to him. "You will be able to challenge the gods themselves one day."

He turned the boy around in the bundle, so his back was facing him. "But for now, you are mine."

He held his hand flat against the boy's back, as he burned his insignia into the boy's back. When he lifted his hand away, there was a sword running down the back of the spine, the hilt pointed up at the boy's neck. Chains were wrapped around the blade, coming over his shoulders and stopping. On the blade of the sword, there were several kanji.

They read, "Death after Life and Death is Eternal." It was the law of the Shinigami, and the law that his Chosen would follow. Just as it was his duty to make sure this law was followed, it would become his Chosen's duty to find the ones who broke the law and exact their punishment. There were many in the world like this, the ones who sought immortality or bringing the dead back to life. He would be very busy for the next years of his life, and it would be the Shinigami's duty to train him, or make sure he received the proper training.

The Shinigami turned the boy over, and looked at him.

Within those calm, red-lined blue eyes, the Arimoshinai no Kyoushu was born.

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**There's the rewrite ****for you. Hope you'll like it. Also, I know that there are some parts in here that were from Imaginary Assassin. From here on out, it should be original. **

**The next chapter should be up later on today. I'm going to try and make it at least 9k words, but right now, it's only at 3k. Depending on certain circumstances, it might also be up tomorrow. **

**Tell ****me if you see anything wrong,**

**Dokugin**

**Words: 3,365 **

**Page Count: 7**

**Time: 3 hours **


	2. Shinigami's Assassin

**Here's the second chapter of Imaginary Assassin. The mission is just something I put in here, as something of a test. So far, I think it went pretty well. **

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Chapter 1: Shinigami's Assassin

It was a cool night, as the three guards stood at attention in the inner compound. Each of them carried a katana, just in case, and a whistle around their necks to alert others if they spotted something. The soft breeze ruffled the trees in the courtyard, causing the leaves on them to sway in the wind. Moonlight poured through the clouds above, illuminating the area around them in a soft glow.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ore saw a shadowy figure run across the yard. His eyes widened at the sight, as a feeling of anxiousness dawned upon him.

He turned his head, still keeping his body forward, to face one of his companions.

"Psst," He whispered, "I think I just saw something."

"Shut up Ore." His fellow guard grumbled, "That's the fourth time you've said something like that."

A shadow crossed his vision again, and he twitched nervously. "But I swear, something's out there!" He complained.

A rock came flying out of the darkness from behind him, hitting him squarely in the back of the head. His hand immediately rose and rubbed the sore spot where the rock had hit.

"Teme," His comrade said warningly. "If you complain again, I will personally walk over there and shove an even bigger rock right up your ass."

Ore turned to face him, and threw the night he could make out the deep scowl on his face. Turning around and whimpering slightly, he quieted himself.

After a few moments, he saw the shadow once again, moving quickly across the courtyard, headed straight for him. He let out a small yelp, as the shadowy figure came right up to him and swipe a silver dagger right through his throat.

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The small yelp he knew that came from Ore caused him to jump a little in reflex, before a scowl formed across his face.

"Damn Ore," He muttered, sliding the katana from its sheath.

The sound of the blade being drawn attracted the attention of the last guard.

"Oi, stay at your post." He told him, to which he just shrugged it off.

"There's no point to it." He retorted. "Nothing ever happens on guard duty anyways." He began his small trek to Ore's location. "Teme, didn't I say I'd personally come over here next time?"

The moonlight revealed the form of Ore, who had his head towards the sky. There was not enough light to tell his facial expression, but just enough to make out his silhouette.

Ore didn't respond for a few moments, and he said, "Oi, Ore, wake your ass up."

"I believe you told him that you would come over here and shove a rock up his butt." came a quiet response from where Ore was. Ore's body crumpled to the floor, as he saw a shadowed figure standing before him.

Though the night was dark, he was able to make out the form of someone near his exact height, a good 5 foot 11. Nothing else shone from the figure, as he could make out the person wearing a hood.

His eyes widened in surprise, as shadowed person ran right up to him, appearing as if he had suddenly transported. Then he felt the cold surprise of a dagger being slid through his stomach, as he crumpled to the floor in an undignified heap.

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The last guard stood on watch, not worrying about his two comrades. They were normally like this, always bickering and fighting. On the inside though, he knew they both cared deeply for each other, no matter how much they denied it.

It was kind of awkward to him, to think about it.

He let a small sigh escape his lips, as he felt his fellow guard return to his post.

Without looking back, he asked, "How's Ore?"

"Unconscious." came the simple, one word response. The voice was not loud, but a soft whisper.

"Oh, that's go-," He froze, contemplating the words of his 'fellow guard.'

"It is, isn't it?" came the reply. He whipped his head around, turning towards the direction of the voice. At the same time, his hand reached quietly to the whistle around his neck, bringing it up to his lips.

Nothing was in his line of sight, and he felt a hand press against the whistle held in his hands, as another he felt something sharp poke into his back.

"Don't move," the soft whisper came from behind. "I'll just need you for a single moment."

Then he felt the sharp object being rammed through his spine, causing him to fall.

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He looked up from his book from time to time, examining his surroundings for a moment before setting his eye sight back to the words written on the page.

He was so close, he could feel it. The thought of immortality thrilled him, as he continued reading further and further into the book.

He was a wealthy merchant, and had obtained the book from a contact of his nearly four years ago. At first, he had thought about discarding the book, but then he saw the first phrase imprinted within its confines. He would never forget those words…

'_This book, it seems…" he flipped the book around in his hands, opening up the pages and nearly sneezing from the dust coming from it. _

"_Old?" put in the glasses wearing subordinate of his contact. _

"_Yes, thank you Kabuto-san." He said, turning to face back "Old." _

"_Well, I assure you, Furin-san." Kabuto's snake-like master hissed. "its age has done nothing to dull the secrets within it." _

"_Secrets you say?" He asked, sounding intrigued. In his mind however, he felt he would be throwing away the book as soon as he got to his estate. _

"_Yes," he slithered. "That book has many secrets, and will surely help those who can learn them."_

"_Then why haven't you tried getting them?" _

_He chuckled, his subordinate looking nervously around. "I'm afraid those secrets are not the ones I seek." _

_He opened the book, and stared at the front page. "It seems like the very first page is missing." He observed. _

"_You are correct. That book has seen many years in its existence, and I'd be surprised if no pages were missing." _

_He sighed, closing the book with a snap and blowing more dust into the air. "Very well then," He told him, "I will accept this book, only because you recommend it." _

"_Excellent." He said, his lips curving into a smile. _

_He sat up from the table, taking the book and his two bodyguards with him. One of them opened the carriage, and he climbed in. The door behind him shut closed, and it started moving. _

_He soon grew tired of watching the scenery, and looked to the book in his lap. Sighing, he propped it open in his lap and began to read. _

'_Immortality is something not easily gained. It is something that must be…' _

That was the day his life's goal was changed. It had taken nearly four years to decipher the book, and he was nearly finished with it. Already, he could feel the effects of the immortality inside him. He hadn't gotten sick in the past year, and his healing was greatly improved. He also didn't look a day older than when he had started.

Yes, he could feel it already.

The hope of finding eternal life was there, and he knew it was close enough to grasp.

He let loose a loud yawn again, and looked at the time. It was nearly midnight.

He decided it would be best to get to sleep now.

He got up, stretching his tired muscles and aching joints. It could do that to someone who sat in the exact same position for nearly 48 hours, even if they were nearly immortal.

He felt something drop in front of him suddenly, and he was met with a wide eyed, opened mouthed face, hanging upside down. His face was held in a mask of surprise and fear, and his eyes relayed the exact same things. Both his feet were suspended from the ceiling by some wire, and his arms drooped below him.

His eyes widened in shock, and he felt out a high pitched scream, reflexively jumping back.

He, however, didn't watch where he was jumping and tripped over the book he had been reading. He landed back first and felt the breath escape him.

He picked his head up quickly, staring once more at the man hanging upside down, seemingly dead.

"It's surprising, isn't it?" A soft, whispery voice came from behind the suspended man.

Out from behind him came a man dressed in a black hanfu, (look it up on wikipedia, it's the men's style one, shenyi) with a hood attached to the back. It stretched down past his legs, stopping right above his ankles. Underneath, he could see that he was wearing some simple black pants. On his feet he wore socks, which showed in the front end part of his sandals. His attire was form-fitting, but loose enough to have both of his arms fit up to the elbows of the opposite sleeve, which was how he was right now. His hair was short around his head, going slightly past his ears and extending a little beyond his forehead. His hair color was a mixture of blonde and red, but it was difficult to tell because some parts of it were a dark gray in color, a sign of aging.

From behind small, circle sunglasses, he knew that he was staring at him, even though he couldn't see his eyes.

"W-W-Who are you?" He whimpered, backing slowly away from the man.

Several tense moments passed, during which the mysterious man calmly observed him. He felt something subtle slip into his thoughts, but he paid it no mind. Right now, the only things he was thinking were who this man was and why his guards were not coming. They surely should have heard his scream.

"Who I am is of no importance." He replied. "I am not here to tell you about me."

He thought for a second.

"Then why are you here?" He asked slowly, fearing the answer.

"I think you know the answer to that." The mysterious man replied.

His eyes widened even further, as he backed away on the floor, moving as far as he could from the man.

"S-Stay away!" He shouted at him, as the man walked calmly towards him. He hit the walls of the room, and turned behind him. "Guards! Guards!" He called out fearfully. "Guards!"

"You'll find no one will respond." His words and the way he calmly said them forced him to turn, pulling at the door. "You will also find that escape is impossible."

He gave one hard pull on the door, trying to wrench it open. It was all to no avail, as the door just wouldn't open. A hand wrapped itself around his wrist, and he stared at the man right there. He had a small goatee forming at the bottom of his chin, and three marks on each side of his face that looked like whisker marks. He let out a sob of despair, as the man calmly pried his hands away from the door.

"Would you like to know why you have to die?" He asked him calmly.

He pulled his hands out of the man's grasp, knowing that the only reason they came back to him were because the man let them. "No!" He shook his head, backing up against another wall. "No! Just stay away!"

The mysterious man sighed, before putting his hands back into his sleeves. "You were close to succeeding."

He nodded, even though what the man had said was not a question.

"That is why you must die." He explained, "Immortality is not meant for you, and therefore you must be eliminated. No mortal is allowed immortality, whatever their standing in life. My master had hoped you would fail and give up, but you persisted. You kept trying, even when others had given up."

He pulled his hand out of a sleeve, the same calm on his face as a kodachi was pulled along with his hand.

"Please, do not attempt to move or scream. Doing so is pointless. The end result will be the same." He said calmly, the kodachi and the arm that held it whirling in the air, a soft whistle coming from its movement.

Furin backed up, hitting the wall once more.

"No!" He screamed, as the blade descended upon him. "I've done nothing wrong!"

'**The Living cannot Live forever.'** a calm voice resounded in his mind, making him stop his shivering. **'You have broken this law, and for that, you must be eliminated.' **

He felt only an eerie calm now, as the kodachi sliced through the air and his neck.

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He chuckled under his breath, his vision allowing him to see beyond the walls of the compound in which they all lived. Through his sight, he could plainly see that his target was lying asleep in his bed, oblivious to his fate.

'You'll die now, little one.' He whispered madly in his mind.

He pulled over his head his black combat vest, along with his two sickles. He could see that everyone else was asleep, and not one person was up and about.

He quietly stepped over the invisible alarms that his vision made as clear as day.

He saw movement in the room next to him, as he jumped high and stuck to the ceiling. He was just in time too, as the door opened and his fellow Chosen stepped out. He nearly breathed a sigh in relief, but kept it in at the last moment.

He watched as she passed by below him, her hair swaying this way and that.

She headed towards the kitchens and got a midnight snack, before heading back to her room and slamming the door shut behind her.

He winced, as he noted the forms of several more of his fellow Chosen stirring in their sleep. Fortunately, his target was still sound asleep.

He crept along the ceiling slowly, the sickles dangling off the belt he wore around his waist.

He reached his target's room, and smirked. This was too easy. He would have at least thought that he would put some sort of defense around his room or anything, but his vision revealed to him nothing. The other Chosen had all sorts of defenses around their rooms, but his had none.

He frowned. This seemed too perfect, and when things seemed too perfect, they never usually were.

He dropped to the floor, a small squeak sounding upon impact. He turned his head at the noise, looking straight at his target's room. Though his steps and landings were quieter than the others, his target still might have noticed it.

He frowned again, when his target did not have any reaction.

He went straight for his targets door, putting an ear right against the doorway.

Sure enough, he could hear the small snores and breathing that signified that he was sleeping.

He checked around the door, looking carefully for any signs of traps or anything of the sort. He saw nothing.

Shaking his head at the carelessness of his target, he opened the door quietly.

He kept himself low to the ground, stalking right up to his bedside. He pulled a sickle from his belt, and raised it high above his head.

He smirked, savoring the moment. The bane of his existence would be gone this night, and he would never lose to him again.

He brought the sickle down, impaling it into the heart of his target.

No blood came from the wound, and this was where he knew he had erred.

"Did you really think that you could kill me while in my room?" He asked calmly and quietly.

He whipped his head around, and faced him.

In the darkness, he saw that he was leaning against the wall opposite his bed. His arms were inside his pockets, and his hood on the back of his clothing was up. His sunglasses were not on his eyes, and the outsides of his eyes glowed red.

The room started disintegrating before his eyes, leaving nothing but an endless expanse of white.

"Welcome to my imagination," Naruto called to him in his ever calm voice, "And your end."

He screamed wildly in pain, as hundreds of blades soared through the air and pierced his skin.

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"Naruto-kun," the Shinigami sighed, looking at the young boy who stood casually to the side. "Did you really think it was necessary to kill him?"

"Hai, Shinigami-sama." He answered, calm voice and all.

The Shinigami sighed once more, as the two servants carried the impaled body of Chin-Se out of the room. An uncountable amount of blades were impaled upon his body, and blood trickled like a river below him.

"Kami-dono's going to get angry at me again." The Shinigami told him, to which the boy just turned his head.

"Probably," Naruto responded.

A pause followed his one word sentence.

"That's all you can say?" The Shinigami questioned.

"Hai." The blonde/gray/red haired boy said. "I anticipated that Kami-sama would have been here already and I didn't think out the conversation more."

Right at that time, Kami came storming through the doors of the hall, his white cloak billowing behind him. He stood the same height as the Shinigami did right now, an even 8 foot high. His snow white hair stood atop his pale face, which was currently contorted in anger.

"**DAMMIT!" **The God of Life screamed, **"CAN'T YOU TEACH YOUR CHOSEN SOME RESTRAINT!" **

Before the Shinigami could answer, Naruto spoke. "Kami-sama, I think it would be wise for you to teach your chosen some restraint." He spoke calmly. "After all, this isn't the first time an incident like this has happened." He reminded him.

Kami let loose a growl in Naruto's direction.

"It isn't Naru-kun's fault, Kami-sama." a feminine voice called from behind Naruto. The shadow that was Naruto's rose up, and took the form of a young, voluptuous young woman. She had bright red hair, and orange, mischievous eyes. She wore a red kimono, and had a ribbon keeping her hair from falling onto her face.

"I daresay it is, Kyuubi-san." Kami retorted, immune to the features of the young woman.

"Oh, phooey." The young woman said, before chuckling in a high pitched tone and blowing a raspberry in the God of Life's way.

"Ohayou, Kyuubi-san." The Shinigami greeted warily. He had seen the Kyuubi's antics many times, and they no longer affected him as they had years ago.

"Ohayou, Shinigami-sama." The Kyuubi said formally.

"Just keep you Chosen on a tighter leash, Shinigami-dono." Kami warned, before stomping out of the halls.

"You killed another of his Chosen?" The Kyuubi asked Naruto, a mournful look on her face.

He nodded, before walking back into his room.

"This makes the fourth time in the past six months from Kami-dono's Chosen alone." The Shinigami sighed. "Combined with the other God's Chosen, that makes over thirteen times during the past half a year."

The Kyuubi shifted forms, landing on his natural human form. Now, instead of a hot, playful young woman, there stood an old, broken down looking man, with grayish red hair and a long beard.

"It's not his fault," The Kyuubi countered. "The others are just jealous."

The Shinigami nodded his head. "For good reason, also. Their own Masters are ignoring them, asking me to loan out Naruto to them, like some object. Soon, we're only going to have one Chosen here."

The Kyuubi nodded his head in agreement. "Added to the fact that Naruto has been your Chosen for nearly seventeen years and has nearly three times the experience of other, it makes him a liable target for the scorn of the other Chosen."

"For most of his life, they've treated him like that. Ever since he was five, he was treated like an outcast by the other Chosen. They always used to welcome him and greet him. Then he survived for five years as a Chosen."

"It's natural," The Kyuubi said, "People will always look up to the survivors and hate them. It's the mortal's way."

The Shinigami sighed. "I must be honest, Kyuubi-san. I grow tired of mortals and their ways. This was why I didn't want a Chosen in the first place."

"What about Naruto?" The Kyuubi asked quietly.

A silence dawned on them, as the Shinigami struggled to find a response.

"Naruto is different. He feels those emotions, yet he does not let them control him." The Shinigami admitted. "Naruto is no more a mortal than you and I. We both know he has lived through things that some Gods couldn't even go through."

"That is only because he has a purpose," Kyuubi said. He looked directly at the Shinigami, and the Death God met his gaze. "He wishes only to serve his master."

A small smile tugged at the lips of the Shinigami. "Then maybe he should stop killing the other God's Chosen and making them mad at me."

Both laughed, and Naruto quietly closed the door. 

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He sat on his bed, staring at the wall right across from him. The darkness obscured his vision, but he could still see. Suddenly, the walls of his room were torn down, leaving nothing but an endless expanse of whiteness. His bed was gone, and he stood now, seemingly floating in the air.

He heard the small howl of the wind, as it got closer and closer.

From beyond the horizon, small figures were forming, growing closer and closer with every passing second. Soon, the small figures were huge mountains, zooming at Naruto at incredibly high speeds.

They stopped right below him, the snow covered peaks bursting through the clouds that came with them. He stared down, his posture calm.

Then he fell, nearly 2,000 feet onto the top of a snow covered mountain top. He landed lightly on his feet, as if he not fallen at all.

Small droplets of water were forming on him. If his mind registered it, then he would have felt the cold air. However, all his training paid off, and his mind didn't even feel the water on him.

He could have just made the mountains below him appear there, but he liked it when things took time. Though the things that took time weren't always useful, they always made you appreciate them better.

He crossed his arms, his mind sending a mental command to the clouds, imagining them gone.

"Part." He whispered. The clouds around him moved further away from him, going to other mountain tips.

The blue sky hung above him, its azure color replacing the white.

Distantly on the other mountain tops, he created clones that were near exact copies of him, except for the fact they were rocky.

He held out both arms, and imagined.

He felt the weight drop into his hands, and brought both katanas up, the katana in his right hand held in a reverse grip and held horizontally. The katana in his left hand was held vertically and in a normal grip.

"Hajime." He whispered. He didn't even need to say it, as the five clones sunk into the mountains they had been created from.

He jumped into the air, as a pair of rock arms burst from the mountain he had been on. He saw something below him spring from the ground and shot straight up at him, going at a deadly speed on collision course with him.

With the extra weight of the katanas, he spun himself in the air, going in a downwards spiral towards the rock clone. He brought both blades up, just as the rock clone was about to hit him.

He felt the impact on his arms and the swords vibrate in his fingers, but his mind soon banished those feelings, just as he had trained to do. Gravity did it's work, and they both fell to the ground, his blades crossed with the arms of the clone. They gathered speed, and Naruto turned his body, so that his feet were now planted against the head of the clone. He pushed upwards, his blades untangling themselves from the rock clone's arms.

The rock clone smashed into the ground, as Naruto landed silently on a tree in the forest that was hidden in the valley between the mountains.

He watched below him, looking for any signs of the rock clones. They would only be able to locate him if he stepped on ground, which was why he was now on a tree, the blades dangling from his arms.

It would be a waiting game soon, to see which group would grow impatient and start looking for the other. Naruto was fine with this. He was good at waiting.

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"You need Naruto's help?" The Shinigami asked his fellow God.

She nodded solemnly, and a bit sadly. "I'm afraid I do. My new batch of Chosen just isn't strong enough to take care of it, and if I send them out, I fear that they will only make the situation worse."

"It's fine, Etainushi-dono." The Shinigami smiled. The God of Nature rarely asked for help from Naruto, unlike other Gods. The Shinigami could count on one hand the number of times Etainushi had asked for Naruto. She preferred having her own Chosen try it, and only brought in the help of others when she felt their lives were at risk. "I'll call him righ-,"

"You were going to call, Shinigami-sama?" Naruto asked, phasing through a wall. This action caused Etainushi to jump slightly in her chair, but she just shrugged it off afterwards.

"Hai, Naruto-kun." The Shinigami said, standing from his chair. "I'll leave Etainushi-dono here to explain to you." Naruto walked over to the door, opening it for the Shinigami.

"Hai, Shinigami-sama." Naruto said, bowing as the Shinigami passed him. The Shinigami gave him a slight nod, before he left and Naruto closed the door.

Little light filtered into the room, but the room was pretty decorative. Oak book cases lined the walls on three sides, all account books of those who had broken the laws of the Shinigami, and the potential with those to do so. The Shinigami normally sat behind a large, wooden desk, where the only source of light in the room came from a small lamp. He normally sat in a rather comfy looking chair behind the desk. In front of the desk were two chairs, each as comfy looking as the chair behind the desk.

Naruto walked over, sitting in the remaining chair in front of the desk positioned across from Etainushi.

"Ossu, Naruto-kun." Etainushi said formally, bowing her head a little in respect.

"Etainushi-sama." Naruto bowed in his chair, before sitting back straight. "You have need of me?"

The God of Nature nodded her head, before explaining what she needed, "There is a group in the far south of Fire Country. They've been cutting down trees for over two decades and I have let them do so because they needed it for their company. However, they are now all wealthy and are now cutting trees down for increased profit, and selling their wood for more now. I have sent one of my Chosen to them to warn them, but she failed. I want you to destroy the entire organization." She stared at him, trying to look for any reaction. All she saw was the ever present sense of calm on his face. "Do not leave any alive, as I'm sure they will bring more and more people, and could probably destroy the entire Southern Fire Country Forest."

Naruto nodded, understanding what she wanted him to do. "Will the assassination of anyone specific dissuade any attempts at destroying the forest?" He asked. It was a simple idea. Cut off the head of the snake and the rest would follow.

Etainushi thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "It probably would, but I don't want to risk it."

Naruto nodded.

"In return, I'll help Shinigami-dono with his work."

Naruto nodded in agreement. It was a fair trade, as there was sure to be much blood spilled then.

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He walked into the town Etainushi had directed him into, where the compound in which all of the organization's employees and owners lived in was located.

Night had fallen, and the cold air nipped at the skin of everyone but the lone boy walking calmly in the night.

People passing by only spared him a glance, before hurrying back into their homes, their reactions caused by both the cold air and subtle suggestions Naruto was giving their distracted minds. It was always easier to work in the cold, where people were distracted enough by the temperature that he was able to slip into their minds and give them 'suggestions'.

He stood at the barred gates of the compound, looking for an alternate way in.

"Hey!" A male voice shouted from inside the gates, running opposite of where Naruto was standing and inside the gate. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"Gomen," Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. His hood was down but his sunglasses were still on. "I got lost."

Another guard came over, running over to his companion. "What's going on here?"

The other guard answered. "This kid got lost and ended up here."

Guard Number 2 looked at Naruto, giving him a quick examination. His eyes rested on the sunglasses that Naruto was currently wearing. "What kind of person wears sunglasses at night?" He asked, shaking his head.

Naruto laughed, "Apparently, a lost kid like me."

All three laughed, and Naruto saw now would be a good time.

He phased through the gates, and ran with the swiftness and suddenness of a trained assassin at the first guard. He couldn't even register it, as Naruto's hands shot out, wrapping themselves around the guards neck and swinging around him, twisting as he did so. The guard's neck snapped, and he crumpled to the ground. He ran right up to the other guard, who was stunned, and leaned over, pressing his back against the man's chest. He grabbed hold of the katana sheathed at the man's waist and pulled it out, the blade sliding out silently. He twisted around, the blade held in a reverse grip. It slid across the man's throat, but only a small trickle of blood marked his death.

He had only made a small cut, but it was deadly all the same. The total time it had taken to kill both guards was three seconds, one second for running, one each for killing both guards.

He dragged the bodies out, stuffing them behind a group of bushes to the side. He made sure to keep the body of the man he had killed second facing skywards, so the blood wouldn't leave a trail.

He looked at the katana in his hands, his bloodline activating.

Behind his glasses, his eyes twisted themselves into spirals, the only thing remaining of his original eyes was the red lining the outsides.

He deactivated it, and pictured what he had in mind. The blade started morphing, and ended up as just one long, straight sword with a hook at the end.

He swung it around experimentally, and nodded to himself.

He pulled up the hood of his clothing, and stored both arms inside his sleeves, as well as the sword he had just created.

Then he walked forward, into the main compound building, and into the walls.

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Inside the recreation room, around 50 people were all gathered.

Some were playing pool, while others were having a drinking contest. Only one person sat isolated from them all, reading a book in a chair lined up with the wall.

"HAHAHA!" A loud, annoying laughter burst from one of the small, circular tables scattered around the room. All eyes turned to stare at the man, who was obviously drunk, as he slammed a card into the table. "Give me the eight!" He cried out happily, holding a hand out towards another one of the men.

The man just sighed, looking down and shaking his head. "I said 'Go Fish', Hebereke-san, not 'Take my eight'." (Hebereke means drunk)

Hebereke took a deep breath, shaking his head and then taking a swig from his bottle. "Gomen, Sober-san." He mumbled, taking another swig from his bottle before holding it up. "This stuff is getting to my head."

"Then perhaps we should take our leave." Sober said, putting down his cards and picking up Hebereke from underneath his shoulders. He looked to everyone else, muttering an apology and a quick good night. They walked out, and everyone resumed their business.

"Hey," one of the men at the table Sober and Hebereke left from, "Hebereke left his bottle here." He reached towards it, but someone slapped his hand.

"Baka." He said, "Remember last time someone tried to take a sip of Hebereke's beer?"

He shivered, and his hand went back to its position underneath the table.

"Anyways, go return it." He ordered. "Hebereke's going to get mad if he finds out his bottle ain't in his hands in the morning."

He nodded, picking up the bottle and going after Sober and Herebeke.

"Doesn't Herebeke get mad if someone touches his bottle anyways?" The other man nodded, going over to the cards the man who had left had left on the table. He mumbled yes and continued looking back and forth between the cards and his. "You just did that to look at his cards, didn't you?"

"Damn straight." He said distractedly, looking back and forth between the cards still. The other man just sighed.

Soon, the man who had left came running back into the room, his eyes wide with fear.

"Hey, what's up?" One of the people in the room asked him.

He panted, his eyes still wide. "T-T-T-T." He couldn't help but stutter. "THEY'RE DEAD!" He screamed, and silence descended upon the room.

"Who's dead?" someone asked him after a long pause.

The rest of the room minus one person sitting in the corner silently leaned in to listen.

"Sober and Hebereke!" He sobbed out, falling to his knees. "They're in the hallway!"

Some people in the room shook their heads, not believing him. "Go out and check for yourself!" He cried out.

The others mumbled, going into the hallway. The door mysteriously shut behind them, and the remaining people in the room, except for the person in the corner, looked worriedly at the door.

Wails and screams came from outside, and the remaining people panicked.

"We're all going to die!" One of them screamed.

"Oh my god!" They yelled.

The only person not partaking in these activities was the person in the back, who had his head hunched over and reading his book.

"We're going to die!" Someone screamed again, as if to make sure of it.

Despite all of this, the person in the back remained calm, still hunched over and reading his book.

They kept screaming and running around, until someone finally noticed the gray haired man in the background.

"Hey, why are you so calm?" He asked him, tears streaming down his face. "We're going to die and all you can do is read your book."

He waited for an answer, but he did not say anything. He walked over, and tapped the man lightly on his shoulder.

He let out a loud and high pitched scream, as the others came running over, letting loose similar screams from their mouths.

"He's dead!" The one who had discovered him shouted, looking at the man and turning away, throwing up.

His head was completely separated from his shoulders, and had rolled off when he had tapped him. Blood was covering his neck slightly, but it not much. All in all, if someone stopped to admire it, the cut was clean, precise, and deadly. No wasted energy, and just enough to get the job done and nothing more. The work of a true assassin.

"How'd he die?" Someone asked.

"Obviously someone killed him." A calm voice answered, and they all whipped their heads around.

There stood the man who had run discovered Sober and Hebereke. He had his arms crossed across his chest, and a blade with a large hook at the end.

"I-It was you!" They all cried out, pointing an accusing finger at him.

He nodded, and his form seemed to shimmer for a moment. Then it rested, and stood a man clad in black.

"The God of Nature warned you, but you did not listen, instead letting greed overtake you." He calmly said, putting his hands inside his sleeves along with the blade. "I was kindly asked by her to eliminate you."

"Please, spare us!" They begged, understanding their predicament.

The man shook his head. "I cannot do that. For now, you must die."

The room suddenly fell apart before them, turning into an endless expanse of white.

"Welcome to your ends." He spoke calmly, before slowly disappearing, one bit at a time, just like ashes.

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**I'm ending that there. Sorry, but I got lazy at the end and I didn't write everything I wanted to. **

**If you have any questions, suggestions, or want to say something, please ask/tell me. More importantly, tell me if you see any errors in here. **

**Dokugin**

**Word Count: 6,314… sorry I couldn't give you guys 9k. I'll try harder next chapter. **

**Page Count: 15**

**Time: No idea.**

**Next Chapter Title: Chapter 2: Jashin's Request, Kill an Immortal**


	3. To Kill An Immortal

**I'm sorry that I can't update faster… I blame school. **

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Chapter 2: To Kill an Immortal

"Jashin-sama." Naruto said formally and calmly, bowing to him.

Jashin was visibly impressed by the amount of control the boy possessed. It wasn't every day you meet a boy who could face the god of destruction without attacking everything in sight.

"I have heard about you, Naruto-kun." The god said, throwing a red apple to the sky. He caught it in his skeletal-like hands and held onto it. It immediately crumbled beneath his grasp into dust. Such was the power of a god who brought out destruction. "More importantly, I have heard about your skill."

Naruto nodded, knowing why he was summoned here. He was being "lent out" to other gods again. He didn't mind it though, as it was a great chance to improve upon his skills so he could best serve his lord.

"I have heard about you also, Jashin-sama." he replied coolly, as the god smiled. It was a toothy grin and despite Naruto's control, he flinched away at the sight. Even he did not have enough control over his emotions to face pure decimation. "That you _**demand**_ total destruction."

The Shinigami had called him to the room earlier in the day, looking pensive about something. Upon his arrival, the Shinigami's eyes narrowed towards him.

"_Naruto-kun," _the Shinigami had said, _"I need you to do something. You don't have to, so it's your choice…"_

Of course he hadn't refused.

After the Shinigami had told him who needed his assistance, he left and sent Jashin in, hence, his current situation.

"So, you're an informed little boy as well. Are your skills really that good as they, however?" Jashin grinned, before his entire form shimmered in a red glow. Naruto stood calmly as he felt a blade being pushed into his back. It seemed the god of destruction also preferred games.

At that moment of time, he phased through the blade and turned, facing Jashin's grinning face as he passed through him. Grabbing hold of the blade, he stared straight at Jashin.

"You will find that my skills are far above adequate." He told him emotionless. He wasn't trying to gloat because he didn't need to. This was just a test in mentality, to see if actually would. IT was obvious he passed. "Now, what is it you require of me, Jashin-sama?"

The god let out a full blown laugh, the stench of decay filtering into Naruto's nostrils because of the proximity of his mouth.

"Such a straightforward young man! Just like the Shinigami." roared out the god of death. Naruto's control almost faltered as a single thought of destruction and death swept past his defense. He almost attacked the god there, but the god soon stopped laughing. "So eager also."

He smiled at Naruto and he could hear his own fists crack as he tried to hold back his emotion.

"What is it you require of me, Jashin-sama?" He repeated.

"It would be obvious, wouldn't it? Your specialty is assassination and the art of killing." Jashin looked straight into Naruto's eyes that were hidden behind his sunglasses. He felt something crawl over his body, and he knew the god was serious. "I need you to kill someone."

Naruto nodded and allowed the god to continue.

"I need you to kill a very special man. As we speak right now, he should be traveling somewhere in the Fire Country, with an acquaintance of his. I require your specialized skills to… dispose of him."

"Why couldn't you ask your own Chosen to eliminate this man?"

Jashin looked down at Naruto, suddenly growing a few feet. He towered over him, sudden, reigned in rage cackling in the air. "Would you really ask a man to commit suicide, Naruto? Would you ask someone you raised yourself to do so?"

Naruto said nothing.

Jashin returned to his normal state quickly, smiles and all.

"My former Chosen has also has an ally, who I believe will catch your interest. For over three hundred years, this man has lived. Longer than a regular human at his worst, I believe this man has found something of a temporary immortality." Naruto nodded and registered this information in his head, storing it away for when he would need it. "I offer this information as payment for your services."

"We will see," Naruto murmered, to which the god grinned.

"Do not worry, I trust that this information will help you later on. Now, for my former Chosen. He has wronged me recently, in a considerable way." He told Naruto, "As you know, I am the God of Destruction. I reign over the domain of destruction, and I demand total destruction. This trait also passes onto my subordinates. I demand total destruction every time my power is being used. This man has broken my creed and for that capital crime, his life is forfeit."

"Then his life is mine," Naruto assured Jashin. He turned to leave, but Jashin stopped him with his laugh.

"Are you so confident in your skills to believe that you can kill an immortal?"

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The three of them panted, caught up in Kakuzu's black threads. Each was perspiring an incredible amount, exhausted from battling the S-Ranked Missing Nin. They knew their ends would be near.

Naruto watched them all from the shadows, hiding as he had been taught. He would need to wait for the opportune time, which he felt would come soon. Then, he would strike.

More moments passed, as the group below him exchanged words. The "Immortal" with the five hearts was calmly talking to them, and their faces twisted into shock.

Naruto wasn't going after Jashin's Chosen right now. He knew where he would be, and he knew he would kill him later. It was only a matter of time.

Kakuzu's fire mask let out a powerful fire jutsu, and Naruto knew his time would be soon.

"Gufuu Suika no Jutsu (_Typhoon Water Vortex Technique_)." Two voices called out simultaneously.

A wall of water came forward, spurred on by a gust of wind from behind. It collided with the fire and doused it, as two new figures entered the battlefield.

One had a strange looking forehead protector that wrapped down past his chin. He wore the standard Jonin vest of Konoha and had brown hair on top of his head.

The other one caught Naruto's attention more, however. He had bright blonde hair, spiked upwards and tipped with black. His eyes were a coal black, but held a hidden mirth in them. He was a little short, but he looked sturdy enough. His clothes were horrible, however. He wore an open bright orange vest that sparkled in the sunlight. Underneath he wore a red shirt, with a spiral symbol on it. He had on baggy pants, tied with a bandage with a kunai pouch wrapped there. He wore the standard shinobi sandals and the not so standard beaming grin of a shinobi.

"It is I, Namikaze Ryoma-sama of Konoha at your sevice!" He announced loudly, causing the other shinobi there to sweat drop. He put one hand on his hip and pointed the other at Kakuzu. "I'll be your opponent!"

In the shadows, Naruto almost smacked his head in exasperation. What kind of shinobi announced his presence like that?

The Akatsuki member chuckled, before nodding his head. "I accept your 'challenge' then, boy."

Ryoma grinned, and then rushed him while making a hand seal.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu." He shouted, two clones poofing into existence beside him.

They all attacked at once, while the other man who had come with Ryoma joined the other three and got them out of the threads.

One of the boy's clones flew into the air, while the original and the other clone stayed on the ground. The wind mask on Kakuzu shot out a huge gust of wind, blowing the clone away. The fire mask concentrated on the lower two, a stream of fire billowing from it. Ryoma's clone had picked the boy up, tossing him into the air. In his hand, a spiraling blue ball was formed.

"Rasengan!" He shouted, as the ball crashed into Kakuzu. It blew him back a few feet, but he was still on his legs and looked slightly amused.

"You did all that just to hit me with some thing as weak as that?" He questioned, slightly bemused.

"Nope." The boy replied cheekily. "I did it for something like this."

From behind Kakuzu, the last clone sprang up. In his hand was a kunai, which he tried to impale upon Kakuzu's back. It was blown away, dropping the kunai at Kakuzu's feet, by the wind mask.

"Did you really believe that would work on me?" He asked in a laughing matter.

"Truthfully, no." Ryoma said, a grin spreading across his lips and a hand reaching to the back of his head to scratch.

From the shadows, Naruto silently stood watch. This boy was clearly was not meant to be a fighter. He could make an excellent tactician or strategist, but he clearly lacked the strength. Though Naruto had never seen that attack before, he could see the potential it could have.

Then his eyes went to the kunai at Kakuzu's feet. There was a small tag attached to it and it was sizzling. He saw Kakuzu's eyes widen before the tag exploded where he had been standing and covered the area in a cloud of smoke.

"Well, that worked unexpectedly." Ryoma commented. He clapped both of his hands together, as if dusting them off, and turned his back. "That's why you don't mess with the friends of Namikaze Ryoma!"

With his back turned, Kakuzu sprang forth from the smoke caused by the explosion. His fire mask was aimed right at Ryoma, who had no time to react. He stood there in shocked silence as the man charged him.

Naruto decided it was time. He put his right hand into his sleeve, grasping a small piece of metal in his sleeve. It changed forms in his hands as he wasted a moment's concentration on his power. Pulling the newly formed katana out of his sleeve, he dashed forth, intercepting the path of Kakuzu. With his speed, he cut a single slash through the fire mask. It split into two pieces and fell to the floor, where the embers of the oncoming attack sizzled out of existence.

The other onlookers were shocked. This man had just come from nowhere and possibly had saved Ryoma's life.

"Kakuzu. I know nothing of how you managed to escape the Shinigami's gaze for so long. Know this, however," He said calmly to the man who stood in front of hi, staring at him with the same shocked look of the others. He angled the katana towards him and his eyes flashed red, "You will not escape mine."

Darting forward, he held the katana horizontally in front of him. Kakuzu had snapped out of his shocked state by now and was preparing a wind jutsu.

"Futon: Genjuu Shippu! (_Strong Gale!_)" He held his fingers to his mouth and blew. A strong gust of wind came forward, pushing aside everything in its path. Naruto reversed his grip on his blade and stabbed it into the ground to keep himself stationary. No one else was lucky though. They were all blown back and into the trees, save Ryoma, who had created Shadow Clones and had used them to keep his hold on the ground. Taking one look at him, Naruto knew the boy was exhausted. He just couldn't tell why.

Keeping one hand on his blade, he brought the other behind him and used his body to shield his hand from the wind. He twirled his hand in the wind, and concentrated. He felt an imaginary weight drop into his hand. With careful precision, he threw it towards Kakuzu. As if the wind was not even affecting it, it sailed through the gale and hit Kakuzu's wind mask. The wind stopped, and Naruto pulled the blade out of the ground.

Kakuzu still stood in front of him, looking amazed as to how someone could have thrown a kunai against the wind. He was even more surprised when Naruto had suddenly appeared in front of him, the blade against his throat.

"Before I kill you, I want to ask you a question. How have you lived so long?" Naruto looked at him straight in the eye. He wasn't afraid. He looked ready for something.

Kakuzu chuckled merrily. "Who says I'm alive?" He countered.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this, before he cut across the junction separating his neck and his head. His head dropped to the floor with a smile, as his body fell along with him. He looked curiously down on him.

"Dead?" He asked himself quietly, thinking out loud. "Dead, yet animated. An animated corpse?"

He looked skywards, hearing a few birds chirping and the sound of footsteps.

"Impossible. We would have been alerted before." He looked down at Kakuzu's corpse, examining it. "So then, what are you?"

"Who are you?!" A loud, high pitched voice screeched in his ear. Even from underneath the cover of his hood, his brain rattled.

"I'm no one." He answered, doing his best to keep his voice calm. He never knew a man's voice could be this loud and high pitched. "Lower your voice. There is still one enemy left."

"Afraid not." A voice called from the shadows.

"Shikimaru! You're alright!" Ryoma shouted, causing everyone but Naruto in the immediate vicinity to shiver from his voice. It wouldn't do good for someone with his reputation to shiver at the sound of someone's voice.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Two female, equally as loud and high pitched, yelled. He heard a thud and someone collapsing to the floor.

"Geez, such a troublesome guy." The newcomer, whom Ryoma had called Shikimaru, had said. He turned to face Naruto, "Though I am curious. Who are you?"

Naruto looked at him, and started walking towards him. "Is he dead?" He asked, gnoring his question.

"He's as dead as he'll be." He said, stepping in front of Naruto to bar his way. "Now, who are you?"

"I'm nothing but an imagination." He responded. In turn, the man pulled out a kunai and held it to Naruto's throat.

"None of your troublesome answers. No normal person could have created a kunai out of thin air. No normal person could have defeated a S-Ranked Nukenin just like that." He pressed the kunai even more against Naruto's throat, drawing a thin line of blood there. "You don't seem like an enemy. Then again, I could always be wrong."

"You don't seem like a stupid person." Naruto countered. His hand shot upwards and in a flash, the kunai that had been pointing at Naruto's throat was towards Shikimaru's, "Then again, I could be wrong."

"Shikimaru!" The loud voice called again. Seemed like he had regained consciousness. "Are you aright?"

"I'm fine," Shikimaru grumbled, staring at Naruto's neck curiously. Just a second before, there had been a line of blood across Naruto's neck from the wound. Now, only the blood was left.

"Stop playing around, kit." Naruto heard the familiar voice call to him. From his shadow raised the Kyuubi, who was in his old man form. "You got a job, then we can go home and get some dinner. I'm hungry."

Naruto sighed, and lowered the kunai. "You don't even eat, Kyuubi-san. You are right though. I do feel the Shinigami's pull. We should finish here quickly, then go our next mission."

The older shinobi froze at the name of the man, while the others struggled to remember it.

Naruto put the kunai into his sleeve, before turning and bowing to the group.

"I take my leave now." He told them, placing a hand on Shikimaru's head. The boy's eyes went blank as Naruto searched his mind, much to the dismay of the other shinobi. Finding the piece of information he wanted, he pulled it from his mind and added it to his own thoughts. "I was nothing but a figment of your imagination. I was never here. May our paths never cross again."

The Kyuubi went back into Naruto's shadow, as he lifted one hand from his sleeve. He raised it and snapped.

All the other's saw was the quick snap of his fingers and him breaking apart into flying daggers. Daggers that were coming right at them all.

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He jumped from tree to tree, the hood on his head bouncing slightly with every time he hit the tree branches. He made no sound as he moved, no sound to mark his passing. Nothing was disturbed in his movement, not even the air itself. That was how quickly he moved. Within seconds, he was there. The place he had taken from Shikimaru's memories. The place where he had buried Hidan, the Chosen of Jashin. He never expected to see a man in a venus fly trap there.

He was moving through the wires that dangled above the grave, conversing with himself.

"Did a real number on him. Have to bring him to Pein-sama." He said to himself.

"Perhaps. Maybe Kakuzu is not yet dead." Someoneone else said, sounding much like a machine. "Then his recovery with be all the more easy."

He quietly sat in the trees, waiting to see what the man would do. Maybe he would dig up Hidan, so he wouldn't have to.

The man leaned over the grave, looking it over.

"We'll do it quickly, and then see if Kakuzu-dono needs assistance." The normal voice said.

The man inside the plant nodded, and started digging. Hours passed, as the man made his slow descent into hole, digging deeper and deeper. The entire time, Naruto sat still and watched from his position on the tree, his senses alert.

After the fifth hour, where the sun near setting, he heard noises. Straining his ears, he could make out what they were saying.

"I don't see what you mean, Jiraiya-kun." A feminine voice said, "The others say Shikimaru came from this direction, but do you really think the body would still be here? It's been five hours. The plant man, Zetsu, could have already taken it. Or it could all be a trap! Remember when we found them with Kakuzu's body, but none of them could remember how he had died. And how Shikimaru didn't even know where Hidan was. I'm telling you, this could all be a trap."

"Tsunade, relax." The male voice responded, "It's not like anyone out here could beat two of the Sannin at the same time."

Naruto peered at them through the trees. One, the male, had red garbs on an long white hair. The other, the female, had blonde hair and looked far younger than her companion. The man had called them Sannin, so they had to be high leveled ninjas. He looked back at the plant man, Zetsu. He wasn't finished finding Hidan yet, and the two were nearing closer and closer. If they got too close, they would stop Zetsu and he would never get to Hidan.

It took him only a moment to decide, before he shimmered once and disappeared from the human mind.

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Jiraiya sighed again, as Tsunade kept listing the countless number of reasons why someone would set a trap for them. It had been fine at first, but it was now getting annoying.

"Tsunade-hime." He politely said, "If this is a trap, don't you think you should be quieter about all this?"

Tsunade paused midway in her sentence, before taking on a pensive look and quieting down. Jiraiya looked to the sky and thanked whatever god was listening.

"That's not where you should be looking." A quiet, calm voice said from somewhere behind them. Tsunade's and Jiraiya's heads snapped towards the direction of the voice, shuriken in their hands. They threw them to where they heard the voice, only to hit nothing.

"The gods don't live in the sky." The quiet, calm voice said, this time coming from somewhere above them. "In fact, they don't even live in this dimension."

More shuriken were in their hands, and left just as quickly. They soared into the air above them at high speeds, only to hit nothing.

"Where is he?" Tsunade growled, more shuriken in her hands, "It's like he's throwing his voice."

"Not exactly." The voice called to them again. For a third time, their weapons went through the air and hit nothing.

"Chikishou…" cursed Jiraiya, "We'll never hit him if he keeps running."

"I'm not running. You just keep missing." This time, Tsunade left her weapons and slammed a fist into the ground. Her immense strength caused Jiraiya to have to jump high into the air to avoid the following shockwave.

"Stop running!" She screamed, another fist slamming into the ground. More of the ground broke, and the voice chuckled.

"You need to stop doing this, kit. Don't let them control you." An old, elderly voice called. An old man with red clothes and white hair walked into their line of vision.

From the shadows, Naruto sighed. He shook his head, clearing the voices from his head. They were coming more frequently now and with more force.

"Gomen, Kyuubi-san." He walked into the clearing, to the shocked faces of the two Sannin. He knew they weren't looking shocked about him. They were looking shocked about what he had said before. Just like the other two veteran shinobi, these two also remembered the horrors the Kyuubi had wrought. "I will try to control myself better."

The Kyuubi turned to face them, looking at their shocked faces. "Maybe you should start by not calling me the Kyuubi in front of those who know of my legendary acts."

"Perhaps," He mused. This pair would need to be taken care of, but the fact they were still moving in his territory showed they had a strong mental defense. He would need to lower them, so he would be able to do his work.

By now, the two were stirring from their reverie. He could probably take out one of them while he could, to save some time now instead of taking them both out at the same time later when they were fully aware.

He dashed forward, a slim club forming in his hand. He was fast, one of the fastest alive, but he wasn't fast enough to take them both out. He ran right up to the blonde and bashed her in the head with the club. He didn't even use all his strength, but it was enough to send the formidable woman crashing to the ground and forming a small crater upon impact.

Unfortunately, it was too strong and the wood that he imagined for his club was too weak. It had split into many different parts and dissipated shortly after. He didn't have enough time to create a new one, before the white haired one had seen what had happened to his partner. He retaliated quickly, quicker than someone who looked his apparent age could move, and brought his foot around. It nearly slammed into the back of Naruto's skull, but he darted away and ended up nearly 10 feet away in a matter of nanoseconds.

"You're pretty fast kid." The white haired man said, "But I've got some questions I want you to answer."

Naruto looked like he was staring at him. In actuality, he was staring at the tree behind him.

"You know I'm a Sannin. Speed won't do you good against someone of my caliber. Just give up and answer my questions before I have to hurt you." Jiraiya pulled a kunai from his pouch and leveled it at the Kyuubi, who was slowly approaching him. "Don't come any closer. I don't know who you are, but you must be a shameful person to adopt the name of that monster."

"Relax. I can't do anything to you except say stuff. He," He pointing a finger at Naruto, who was walking towards Tsunade, "However, could kill you so easily in this place, it wouldn't even be funny."

"This place?" He questioned, as Naruto put his hand on Tsunade's forehead. He reached into her mind, pulling out memory after memory of this encounter. His face looked strained for a moment, as they stared whispering to him.

"_Go on, kill her. She's lying there so helplessly." _

"_Yeah, go on. Do it. She tried to interrupt our mission. Don't you just want to-,"_ The voice got no further, as Naruto took his hand off the woman's forehead and banished the memories far off into the deep recesses of his mind.

"This place is all his domain, all in his mind." The Kyuubi responded, a small gracing his old lips, "It's his imagination."

Jiraiya scoffed, "Imagination. An old looking kid like you still believes in your imagination?"

Naruto swiftly turned his head towards him and raised a hand. "Why shouldn't I? The mind is the most dangerous weapon after all. As the Chosen of the Shinigami, it's my job to utilize the most dangerous weapons of all to do his bidding."

Jiraiya looked at him in a disbelieving way, before twisting his lips into a smile. Then he ran towards Naruto. He didn't get a single centimeter closer before the tree that was behind him reached out with its branches and caught him in a vice-like grip.

"I could tell you everything about me. How I am the son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, the container of the Nine-Tailed fox. How I became the servant whom the Shinigami entrusted to do his bidding. I could describe to you the experience of walking into the deepest pits of hell and fighting your worst nightmares. You could choose to believe all of it or not. It wouldn't matter." His eyes flashed red, "You're going to forget everything that happened here and you're going to provide me with some valuable information, like where Orochimaru is."

Jiraiya looked shocked. That's why the boy seemed familiar. He couldn't believe it though. It just seemed so unlikely and so unimaginable. Then the last thing he said struck him.

"Why do you need to find Orochimaru?"

Naruto said nothing, as he stepped to Jiraiya and placed a hand on his forehead. This would be painful. The man was still conscious and he would be ripping out many memories from him.

It was lucky, however, that he ran into this man.

Now, he knew where Orochimaru was, who he was, and most important of all, what he feared the most.

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He left the two in the middle of the woods, after returning them to reality and hanging them from a branch. They would eventually get out, but he would be long gone by then.

He returned to his perch on top of his tree just in time to see Zetsu excavating the final parts of Hidan out of his hole.

"Hurry up, you damn freak!" The Immortal yelled, "I want to get back to Konoha as soon as possible and beat the shit out of that kid!"

Zetsu muttered some choice words, before throwing the last piece of Hidan, his leg, out of the hole. His foot smacked his head, and he cursed more.

"Watch where you're throwing that, you retarded plant!"

Zetsu mumbled some more, before jumping up and out of the hole. He picked up the assorted body parts of Hidan, leaving only the head left lying on the floor. He bent over Hidan's head to pick it up, before the created kunai that Naruto threw hit Hidan's arm.

"Ah!" Hidan screamed out, "That hurt like a bitch!"

Zetsu, as soon as the kunai hit Hidan's arm and disappeared, dropped all of his body parts on top of Hidan and made hand seals.

"Nai Hayashi no Jutsu! (_Art of the Dead Forest!_)" He cried out, both of his voices saying it at the same time. From everywhere around him burst pale looking vines with wicked looking thorns spreading out of them in all directions. It looked like these thorns excreted some acidic liquid as droplets of something were dripping off the thorns and hitting the ground with a sizzle. He lifted his arms and controlled them with them, all the while staying in the same place and looking around cautiously.

As soon as Naruto had thrown his kunai he had immediately darted through the trees to another position. Now he looked down upon Zetsu, who was near directly under him.

He watched the vines twirling around the plant man and knew his imaginary blades would not be able to harm anything already dead. He would need something solid for this. He tapped the brush underneath him, causing a few leaves to fall to the ground. He decided that this wood would be strong enough, and jumped from the tree. A second later, a vine came bursting through the branch, ripping it apart and dissolving it.

Naruto, who was four trees over, was palming the branch he was standing on. He closed his eyes, knowing it would be difficult to manipulate something already living.

"Forgive me, Etainushi-sama." He whispered, his voice being heard by Zetsu. Viens came in his direction, but he was quicker. He picked up the spear he had just created from the branch and hurled it with all his might.

It ripped past the vines, cutting its way through them in a single second. Few drops of acid spilled onto it, but not enough to slow it down. Finally, it hit Zetsu. With a sickening thud, it impaled itself into his side. Both voices let out a simultaneous scream, to which Naruto cringed at. He should have just aimed for his head, but he wanted him alive to see if he had more information on Kakuzu. It really didn't make sense to him, how Kakuzu had escaped the notice of the Shinigami for so long, how he had escaped _his_ notice for so long. If one man could bypass the Shinigami;s law, how many others were there? He needed to know.

The vines around Zetsu slowly crumbled, sinking back into the ground where they had come from. Zetsu had collapsed on the floor where Naruto's spear had impaled him, a pool of blood spilling from his wound. Hidan, who had been screaming the entire time and had heard Zetsu's scream, was screaming past all his body parts to try and get a feel for what was going on outside.

"What the hell is happening! Dammit Zetsu! Get me outta here you damned plant!"

On the floor, Zetsu coughed up blood as Naruto walked by calmly.

"Who are you?" wheezed out the Akatsuki member, coughing out another load of blood as he talked.

"I am nothing but an imagination," came Naruto's response, which he used every time someone asked him that inevitable question.

Zetsu smiled a little before falling to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Naruto ignored him for now, opting instead to kick aside his body and towards Hidan. He shuffled off all the body parts and placed them in a neat pile, where he would destroy them over and over until they stayed dead. Atop the pile, he placed the scowling head of Hidan.

"Who the hell are you?" he questioned, venom lacing his words.

"I am no one." He answered calmly, despite the obvious anger directed at him by Hidan.

"You bastard! You're one of those freaks that always answer in some damn cryptic ways! If I had my body, I would wipe the floor with your damn ass, then go to your mother and-,"

The Immortal Head was silenced as Naruto reached into his arm sleeve and pulled out a four foot katana. He pointed it directly at Hidan's eye socket.

"You may be something of an immortal, but if you open your mouth once more, I will make you blind." His threat hung evident in the air and Hidan quieted down, the man taking Naruto's threat completely seriously, "Now, do you know why you must die?"

It was what he always had to ask. It wasn't required of him, but it was part of his moral code. If he had the time, stop to tell someone why they were about to die. Otherwise, it was rude.

Hidan looked up defiantly at Naruto, playing a game. Naruto, however, was in no mood for games. He never was.

With one quick thrust, the blade he had formed was impaled upon Hidan's eye. The man let out a loud scream, the pain tearing through him. Naruto pulled out the blade, the eye popping out of its socket with a sickening squelch.

"What the hell was that!" He yelled, not knowing how the pain was affecting him so much. Normally, he wouldn't feel it due to his contract with Jashin, but this… The pain was nigh on unimaginable.

"That was your subservience with Jashin being broken. Now, do you know the reason why you must die?" Naruto told him calmly, flicking the blade to his left and dislodging the eye stuck on its tip. It flew in the air and landed on the ground a little ways away.

"You fucking sonofa-," Hidan ignored his question, and Naruto let out a sigh.

"Fine," He said quietly. He stabbed the blade into the ground and kneeled beside the still screaming head of Hidan. Placing one hand on the yelling man's head. he closed his eyes. He concentrated, feeling for that cold warmth that was found in the deepest parts of this man's mind.

Slow visions of slaughter and blood crossed his mind as he searched, tuning the screams of the man out. Finally, he found what he sought. He forcefully pulled the memory from the man's mind, a name coming along with it.

He removed his hand from the head, which had gone silent.

"What the hell did you do?" He whispered, horror struck.

"I am an assassin. I do what I do best."

He raised one hand, spreading his fingers out. He snapped two fingers, and four walls spread up around them, closing them off from the outside world. For a few moments, nothing was heard, seen, or done. It was like the calm before the storm. Then, the endless landscape of white came.

He took off his sunglasses and looked at him with his spiral-like pupils. Then he spoke.

"You're not immortal. It's all just a matter of times I have to kill you for you to die."

He looked straight at Hidan, who's eyes had widened in horror as _thousands _of blades appeared around him. All of them shot forward at once and his cries were drowned out in the hail of steel.

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**Whew, that was difficult. It's been so long. I'm back though. **

**Anyways, next chapter preview. **

**Chapter 4: Naruto's Mentality. What exactly are the voices Naruto hears? Explanations about Naruto will be answered, just ask, and I'll try to add it in for the next chapter. I'll also be giving out some stuff, like his bloodline and his mother. Also, the introduction of another God's Chosen and a mission for Naruto. **

**Any things you see wrong in this chapter, please tell me and I'll fix it. **

**Dokugin **

**Word Count: 5,845 **

**Page Count: 12**

**Time: Once again, I have no idea… **


	4. Naruto's Mentality

**Well, here's the next chapter of this story. Reason for not updating in so long is at the end, so that means you have to read the entire chapter to get to it… or you could just scroll all the way down. **

**Disclaimer: I don't really own Naruto…. or anything really…. **

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**Chapter 4: Naruto's Mentality **

Naruto sat up straight in bed, cold sweat pouring down his face. His eyes were wide in the darkness of his room, flicking around for any signs of visible danger. He was panting hard, as if he had just run for a day non-stop at his top speed. He shook his mind, trying to shake the vivid, clear dream he had just experienced from his mind.

It was so life-like, enough so it was hard to distinguish the real from the false. Then again, for most of his life, the line between his reality and imagination had been blurred so many times it was hard to see through the haze.

He stilled his breathing to a slow crawl, a far cry from the heavy panting he was doing moments before. Still, broken memories from the dream assaulted his mind and he spasmed in his bed, powerless to stop them.

_Bodies lay scattered around him. He stood in an ocean of them, all he knew slain by his blade. Each one had the same face. _

_War cries sounded from somewhere behind him but he kept his cold, hard gaze forward. Whistling sounded through the air as a hail of arrows thudded everywhere against his back. He felt his liquid life blood flow from the numerous wounds on his back, but he kept standing. _

_Turning around, he faced his would be attackers, who were staring at him as if he were the devil himself. It was unnerving, to see the face of yourself plastered on the man whom you just shot. _

_On his back, he felt the arrows pop out of him and the wounds seal. They clattered to the corpse infested ground with a dull thud. _

_He raised his sword high in the air and ran at full speed, killing intent racing through his entire being… _

The scene skipped forward and he clutched his head in pain, refusing to let out a single cry escape his lips, despite the hurt.

"_Kill them," he heard a voice whisper in his ear. It was that same damn voice, the one that never left him alone, the one that tortured him day in and day out. "Look at them all. They're helpless, like you were once before, when you didn't have my help." _

"_No," he fought back, though his hand was moving on its own accord. The blade came up high, raised above the head of one of his look-alike clones, who had had his eyes gouged out with the blade moments before. Other look-alikes kneeled around him, facing similar injuries. "I won't." _

"_Don't even try it boy!" that voice screamed to him, "You are nothing without me! Without me, you wouldn't even be nearly half as powerful as you are." _

_Try as he could, he couldn't do anything. The blade came down and with a sickening thud, his head rolled onto the floor, staring up at him with lifeless eyes. _

"_See." the voice in his mind chuckled. "You couldn't resist the slaughter." _

"_Why are you doing this?" Naruto asked the voice harshly, "Why are you showing me this?" _

_That voice laughed in his mind once more. _

"_You ask that question every time you sleep, every time you use my power. You already know the answer." _

Suddenly, it all stopped. The intense pain gnawing at Naruto's mind was gone, utterly obliterated. It was as if it had never been there in the first place. He sat up in his bed, running a hand through his hair.

Then he fell back to his bed, his eyes wide awake.

"You'll eventually get used to it, boy. Eventually." The edges of Naruto's vision shimmered, and there, floating above him, was a dark figure.

"Shut up," Naruto said to him, shaking his head to try and clear away the imaginary figure. "Just go away."

"Boy, I won't go away. This is the price for my power, something which you seem to forget. Besides," where the dark figure's mouth should be appeared a set of razor sharp teeth, set in a feral grin, "You know you love it anyways."

"No, I don't." he said, putting his arms behind his head and staring up at the figure, "I don't even like thinking about it."

"Don't even try to lie, boy. I know you, because I am you. You can try your entire life, but you'll never be rid of me. You know you'll be serving that damned Shinigami for the rest of your poor, pathetic existence. You need me because without me, you would be useless to serve him. Remember, I am Insanity, and I'm the one who allows you to cross over that line between what one perceives and what one imagines. I give you the power to trick the mind and control it to such an extent that you can change the world around you. Of course, this is all in exchange for…"

"In exchange for losing my mind, piece by piece, every second of my life." Naruto finished for him, rolling to his side.

Insanity chuckled, "It was your decision. You're the one who offered the deal, all those years ago. I will give you this though, your mind is the strongest I've ever inhabited. It's been nearly thirteen years, and yet your mind has still not broken. Any lesser man would have been far gone into his own little world after the first year."

Naruto snorted, before catching himself and schooling his face into an impenetrable mask. This was how he had not fallen insane for so long, by keeping himself calm around Insanity. "Any lesser man would not have been able to summon you."

"At the age of four, no less." Insanity chuckled.

Naruto didn't respond, opting instead to sit-up in bed. He threw his legs to the floor, standing up. The apparition that was Insanity shivered and disappeared. No matter what Insanity said, Naruto could feel something was changing. It seemed the process was accelerating somehow. It looked like he would be paying a visit to his mother now….

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Naruto gave a slight nod to the woman guarding the cell. She nodded in return, gripping the halberd she held tight enough to make her knuckles white. This woman was obviously new, as she seemed extremely nervous around Naruto. Then again, with fame like Naruto's, it would be hard not to be nervous.

The other one guarding the cell, however, gave him a warm smile. This man was a friend, one who had been on guard ever since she had been put inside it. He was Yuji, the one whom the Shinigami had introduced with much bravado the first time he had met him, many years ago.

"Going in to visit her, Naruto-kun?" he asked.

Naruto nodded and took out a thin piece of obsidian colored steel contained within his sleeve. You weren't allowed to have anything you could use as a weapon inside the cell. He handed the steel to Yuji, who nodded and lined it up against the wall. He motioned for Naruto to follow him and they reached the first door.

This door was nigh impenetrable. Though it looked like a solid chunk of gold, Naruto knew better. When he was young, he and the Shinigami came to visit his mother. This was after he had obtained Insanity, and yet, even with his help, he could not break in.

Yuji laid his hand flat against the door, positioning his hand directly on the door at a certain place. From his belt, he drew a dagger. He seemed to wait a moment, before plunging the dagger straight into the back of his hand. He made no sound as he did so and the wall seemed to disappear. He pulled the dagger out with a squelch, as blood dripped from his hand onto the floor. Yuji, however, paid it no mind and bade Naruto to enter.

Naruto nodded and briskly walked through the space where the doorway once stood. He didn't ask if Yuji was alright or not. It would be pointless. He already knew that the man had accelerated regenerative abilities, bordering on the unimaginable. You could cut off the man's head, but then he would grow an entirely new one. Naruto knew. He had tried it before.

Without looking back, he walked onwards, down the dark hallway. After minutes of walking, he saw a ten by ten wall of bars, crossed in a pattern over an opening at the end of a hallway. The bars glowed a dull golden brown color, illuminating the space behind and in front of it with light. Silhouetted against the light was a hunched over figure, with rags hanging off their body and hair splayed haphazardly over their face.

Naruto approached cautiously, not knowing if she was herself or not. Thankfully though, a tired, kind voice greeted him.

"Naruto-kun?" his mother asked, unsure if it really was Naruto or not.

"Hai, hahaoya." He responded, bowing formally to his mother's figure.

She let a small laugh of happiness, before running up to the cage and looking beyond the bars. Light splashed over her face, and Naruto realized for the hundredth time that she was getting weaker with each passing visit. Even now, her face was shallow, showing she didn't have much to eat, and her eyes had extreme bags underneath them. Her dull, grey colored eyes peered out of the darkness at him, shining with a small gleam of excitement while showing more of the fatigue present within them.

"It's so nice to see you again, Naruto-kun." she said, a smile gracing her features, "Have you been eating healthy?"

Naruto let out a small grin, answering his mother with a nod.

"That's good. Has the Shinigami been treating you well?"

"Hai."

"Have you gone on any missions?"

"I just came back from one."

"What kind?"

"Assassination." He told her simply, not going into any details. Though his mother had no qualms about what he did, being a former shinobi, he still didn't like to talk about it.

Silence reigned over the room for a few moments, as Naruto's mother looked over his face, staring at him intently. Finally, Naruto decided to say something.

"Is there something so interesting about my face, hahaoya?"

She smiled at him, saying, "I'm just thinking about how handsome my little boy has grown up to be. Just like his father. Ah, woe be the day you actually meet a nice girl and settle down."

"That will never happen, hahaoya." he answered her calmly, "Not as long as I have the Shinigami."

Naruto's mother just stared at him, before telling him, "That's not good, Naruto-kun. That'll make people question your sexual orientation."

Naruto could have slapped his head in exasperation. "I didn't mean it like that, hahaoya. I meant…"

"I know what you meant," she laughed, "I was just teasing. By the way, have you been getting enough sleep?"

Naruto turned his eyes away, along with the rest of his body, "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

When he didn't hear her say anything, he continued, "I think the process is accelerating. Insanity is gaining more control."

His mother made a thoughtful noise, before turning around to face the back of her cage. "Seems like it is, though 'accelerating' for you would have meant death for someone else." she chuckled a bit, "You haven't gone on any missions where you've taken something from, have you?"

Naruto was just about to speak, before his mother cut him off, "Other than their lives."

He paused and thought for a moment, before it clicked. "Recently, I was on a mission where I had to take out two people, both considered high-ranking shinobi. I had to shift through some of their memories." He didn't add the fact he killed them both.

His mother only nodded, as if that explained it. "Of course. You must have seen all they've gone through. All high-ranking shinobi have gone through more than most, and they've probably seen more than twice that amount. Just keep your head to yourself and you should be fine."

Naruto nodded, thanked his mother, and turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.

"Wait, Naruto-kun." She said. He turned and saw his mother, though something was different. Now, staring back at him, were a pair of startling violet eyes. "I've given you information that'll help you. Now, why don't you return the favor?"

Her voice was sweet and caring, though with a somewhat scholarly tone. He was drawn to it, even though he knew he shouldn't even listen to it.

"That's good now. Come closer, Naruto-kun." He did as he was asked, and took a step towards the cage.

"Closer, Naruto-kun. You can't open a gate from so far away."

He walked up closer, his hand reaching towards the gate, his eyes behind his glasses mesmerized by the violet ones staring into his, hypnotizing him. He almost opened it, but at that moment, he felt a tug pull at his back, as if someone was beckoning to him.

His eyes snapped back into focus and his thoughts were his own once more. He jumped back as if the door were something hazardous to him, though in actuality, it was. An angry looked crossed his features, and he felt his rage flare uncontrollably. A black hue surrounded him, and a crackling sound filled the room.

"Bitch." He said through clenched teeth. Then, he turned around.

Behind him, the sweet and caring voice had transformed, and the voice screamed at his back as he left to go answer the Shinigami's call.

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**I know what you're all thinking. Most of it might be cursing me out for not updating for so long. I've got a reason for not updating, though I don't believe it's a very strong one, however valid it may be. To tell the truth, the reason I haven't updated in so long is as follows: I'm a lazy ass bastard once school starts. That's really all there is to it. I've had all these ideas in my head all this time, but I've just been so damn lazy that I don't want to type them down. Hell, I have them written down (somewhere), but just not typed.**

**Anyways, this chapter and the next were once combined, but I decided to just cut it there and leave all the action in the next chapter. Sorry for the ones who wanted some ass-kickery in this chapter and for the ones who wanted to see some quality work. Next chapter is a mission with a high-death count probability.**

**Words: 2,488**

**Page Count: 6**

**Time: Obviously a couple of months… **


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